Quick and Easy Tomato Fish Stew
This simple Fish Stew recipe is the perfect low-maintenance dinner when I want something light and flavorful with minimal effort. It's great year round, but even better in summer when fresh tomatoes are at their peak.
Why is this fish stew so good?
This Fish Stew is light, yet packed with flavor. Juicy tomatoes, white wine, and briny olives and capers simmer together to make an insanely delicious broth. Plus: with minimal chopping and quick cooking time, this recipe only takes about 10 minutes from start to finish.
What you'll need to make this recipe:
- Fish: I usually use a firm white fish like cod or halibut for this, but you could do it with salmon, tilapia, haddock, red snapper, or really any fish you have on hand.
- Tomatoes: This is an awesome recipe to make when you have access to lots of juicy peak summer tomatoes, but it works really well year-round with canned tomatoes too.
- White wine: Optional, but I love the aroma and acidity white wine brings to the table. It really adds to that Mediterranean vacation feeling.
- Onions: I like to use fresh green onions here for the pops of color, but white or yellow onion works well too.
- Capers: A key ingredient for brininess and Mediterranean vibes.
- Olives: Like the capers, olives add a nice salty briny flavor and a bit of heartiness. I prefer green olives if available.
- Lemon: I like to jazz this up with a squeeze of lemon at the end for even more acidity, but it's totally optional.
- Pantry Staples: Olive oil and salt, for richness and flavor.
Feel like mixing it up? Try these variations to suit your mood:
- Add fresh parsley or dill at the end for a blast of freshness
- Add some garlic for added aroma
- Add extra vegetables like red peppers, fennel, carrots, or celery. If you go this route, make sure you soften them well with the onions before adding the tomatoes.
- Add clam juice, chicken broth, or vegetable broth to thin this out for more of a soup consistency
- Add a sprig of thyme, dried oregano, or a bay leaf to the pot for coziness and depth of flavor
- Skip the fish entirely and use shellfish like shrimp, prawns, mussels, or clams if you're in the mood for seafood!
How to make this easy fish stew
Follow these easy steps to make this deliciously brothy and flavorful fish stew.
- Heat some olive oil in a shallow, thick-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.
- Chop the onions and add them to the pot to soften slightly.
- Roughly chop the tomatoes and add them to the pot as well as a hefty pinch of salt
- Add a big glug of white wine to the pot, give everything a big stir, and simmer for 3-5 minutes until the tomatoes start to break down.
- Taste the tomato mixture to make sure it's seasoned nicely. It probably won't need salt, but add a little salt if needed. Once satisfied, drop the fish pieces in so that they are partially submerged in the tomato mixture. Add the capers and olives, cover with a lid, and allow to steam for 4-5 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish.
- Check to see if your fish is cooked through. I do this by inserting a knife into the thickest part of the fish, and if I can do so without any resistance whatsoever, it's done.
- Squeeze the lemon into the pot and serve in individual bowls with chunks of fresh bread and a glass of wine on the side.
Tips for success
These success tips will help ensure your fish stew is perfect every time:
- If your fish pieces vary in size and shape, put the thickest ones into the tomato mixture first, and add the thinner pieces several minutes later to ensure even cooking.
- Use a dry white wine here, because it's just better. Use something you'd be happy to drink. I tend to stick with Pinot Gris or Sauvignon Blanc.
- Be careful with the salt at the beginning, as capers and olives are both salty and you could easily overdo it.
- If you're not using peak season tomatoes, don't substitute them with sub-par, out-of-season tomatoes. Instead, use canned tomatoes.
- If you don't use wine but you still feel like you need a bit more liquid in the pot, add a splash of chicken stock, clam juice, or water.
What goes well with this fish stew?
This fish stew is so packed with flavor that all you need to serve with it is something starchy to soak up the juices. I like a big hunk of crusty bread, but you could also serve it with rice or boiled new potatoes. To drink - chilled white wine (maybe the same one you used to cook it), or a glass of ice cold beer is just the thing.
Storage, freezing, and reheating tips
- This recipe is best enjoyed immediately, especially the fish part. But if you have leftovers of the tomato mixture, it makes a delicious sauce to toss that with some pasta the next day. Top your caper/olive/tomato pasta with a few crumbles of feta cheese or some grated Parmesan and you've got a leftover makeover that will please everyone.
- If you do happen to have fish leftover, you can still enjoy it the next day or the following day. Store it in the fridge in an airtight food storage container and it'll be great.
- Be careful if you are reheating it as it is likely to overcook. Avoid using the microwave for this reason. Instead, just pour your leftovers into a small pot and heat gently on the stove until it's heated through.
- I wouldn't recommend freezing any part of this recipe because the fish would certainly develop a weird texture and the tomato stew would lose it's fresh zippy flavor.
Frequently asked questions
Yep, bones can be pesky. I usually ask the fish counter people to yank them out if there are any, but I also have fish tweezers at home in case they miss any. You can usually feel them with your fingers if there are any! But yeah, sometimes you still get one or two and it's just the way the cookie crumbles.
When shopping for fish or any seafood, it's important to choose sustainable options. If you have a local fish store that cares about sustainability, they will likely be a very good resource for you. When shopping, even at the fish counter of your regular grocery store, don't be afraid to ask questions about how particular fish have been raised and which fishing practices have been used. Oceanwise is a great place to learn more.
Nope. Peeled tomatoes are for fussy people, which I am not. But, you do you.
Still hungry? I hear ya.
If you love this easy fish stew recipe, you'll want to try these other simple dinner ideas:
- 7-Minute Crispy Skin Salmon
- Coconut Corn Chowder
- Life-Changing Summer Spaghetti
- Instant Pot Chicken Stew
This is seriously one of my favorite fish recipes ever. I hope you like it! Let me know how it goes.
Quick and Easy Tomato Fish Stew
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 3 each green onions
- 500 grams tomatoes
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 100 millilitres white wine
- 50 grams green olives
- 30 grams capers
- 1 lemon
- 2 fillets cod, or other white flaky fish Approx 150g per fillet
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottomed shallow pot or Dutch oven
- Chop the onions and add them to the pot
- Roughly chop the tomatoes and add them to the pot as well as the salt
- Add the white wine to the pot and simmer for 3-5 minutes until the tomatoes start to break down.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add the fish pieces in so that they are partially submerged in the tomato mixture. Add the capers and olives, cover with a lid, and allow to steam for 4-5 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish.
- Check to see if your fish is cooked through. I do this by inserting a knife into the thickest part of the fish, and if I can do so without any resistance whatsoever, it's done.
- Squeeze the lemon into the pot and serve in bowls with chunks of fresh bread and a glass of wine on the side.
Made Thai red curry coconut fish soup for the first time, and it was a taste explosion! The combination of flavors was so comforting. Who else enjoys seafood soups?
Me! I do!